A year with the cats

Yes, it has been almost a year with the cats, which I’ve ‘adopted’ in the relationship. It is definitely life-changing to have two other living things with you. Especially those who only speak in certain body languages.

Who me?

1. Off limit rooms

We used to have our doors closed in my parents’ house not to keep out pets but to keep out other human prying eyes. Now, we have the master bedroom closed almost all the time as my partner who has lived with the cats for over 10 years, is actually allergic to cat fur.

The room is like forbidden city to the cats and they try to sneak past you when the room door is ajar. They know they are not supposed to go in and almost run out when they are caught sneaking in.

2. Dust and fur everywhere

Cats are very clean. So we all know of cats. While they keep their bodies clean, the floor is often ‘dusty’ with the fur together with the hair from my partner and my shedding head. So we now pick up after four hairy ‘folks’ in the house. My father used to sweep fastidiously and always lamented the fact that both my sister and I are worst than shedding Old English Sheepdogs.

Also, beware dark coloured clothes as the white cat who sheds a lot, leaves her mark around the couch. I’ve gone to work with a back of white fur on my clothes.

3. Designated petting times

Yes, pet me please mews happen every morning and every evening. Or when you happen to be home in the afternoons and they are awake. The demand to be petted can be annoying when it gets incessant and they just follow you around.

4. Masking taped furniture

Beautiful furniture have been taped to prevent being scratched.

5. Playtime is better than TV

We have found ourselves amusing ourselves with the cats while watching TV. I mean, really watching the cats play while watching a programme we have on like The Mentalist (which is a great series by the way). One of the cats loves this feather thing and gets really hyper when it’s rustled.

The other game with the laser dot. I’d bet those with pets have already tried this. We’ve seen the cat scale the scratching post like a monkey with this game.

6. The lure of catnip

Oh this is bad. It is like weed for the cats. They love it so much. It must be natural and part of nature.

If I wanted the floor mopped, I would sprinkle this everywhere which needs to be ‘mopped’. The cats could lick a hole into the ground with catnip.

7. Coming home or waking up to ‘surprises’

Sometimes they poop on the furniture or floor. It happens more often with the black cat. He vomits after eating too quickly especially when wet food is produced and it is like a birthday.

This ‘surprise’ of poop is not fun. I’ve had the black cat poop while sitting next to me on the couch. I was thinking that there’s something which smells like poop. Of course, he slinks off after that, revealing the surprise. This happens sometimes when there are territorial issues around the litterbox when one cat is afraid of being pounced on after using the litterbox in a wardrobe with a catdoor.

8. Exfoliation session

The white cat loves cream or scents. Sometimes even without cream, I would find the white cat licking my arms and legs. It is actually a nice sensation, a little ticklish and wet but it is so sweet when they do that.

I feel like I’m being ‘cleaned’ by the cat.

We had the door to the bedroom opened one night for the cats and I found myself being ‘licked’ awake. The white cat was just sitting on top of me and licking my arm.

9. Yum, salt

The black cat loves human food and human cups. He sneaks into your cup of water when you are not watching. We’ve found him with his head in the mug/cup when we walked away. He loves drinking water from our cups.

He also has an ‘acquired taste’ for salt. Like peanuts, pistachios and salted crackers.

10. Laptops are for cats

Working at home is never the same. The black cat loves sitting on the laptop and the mouse. I’ve found myself looking over the huge mass of black fur at the laptop screen as he insists in sitting between your two arms and between you and the laptop. His tail gets in the way of the mouse.

They both love rubbing their faces and heads against the edges of the laptop screen. When that happens, they push the screen back and you’ll often find yourself adjusting the screen every 5 minutes.

Sometimes, seeing the cats at the door when you come home can make you feel happier. They are so innocent and it is a blessing to share their lives. All in all, it is like having two weird and furry kids in the house.